Phuktal Monastery

A monastery built around the mouth of a cave, on a cliff high above the Tsarap river in the Lungnak valley. It is the single most recognisable place in Zanskar, and it is still reached on foot.

What it is

Phuktal — also written Phugtal, and pronounced closer to Phuk-tal — is a Gelug monastery roughly 52 km south-east of Padum. The buildings are stacked in tiers below and around a natural cave in the cliff face, held on to the rock rather than built out from it. Around seventy monks live there. A spring runs from inside the cave, which is part of why the site was settled in the first place.

It was founded in the early fifteenth century by Jangsem Sherap Zangpo, a disciple of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug school. The cave itself is much older than the monastery: it was in use by hermits and scholars long before there were buildings on the cliff.

How you reach it

Until 2023 the only way to Phuktal was to walk, for a day or more. A road now runs up the Lungnak valley as far as Purney, and from there it is a two to three hour walk along the Tsarap — moderate, with some exposure, on a good path. That is the short way, and it is what most visitors do.

The other way is to arrive at Phuktal at the end of a trek, which is what we would suggest if you have the time. Coming over the passes and down the last gorge, the monastery appears without warning above you. It is a different experience from being dropped at the road-head, and it is the reason our six-day route from Zangla finishes here rather than starting here.

Visiting

• The monastery is a working religious community, not a museum. Ceremonies are not performances.
• Ask before photographing inside any building, and accept a no.
• Shoulders and knees covered. Shoes off where others take theirs off.
• There is simple guest accommodation near the monastery; it is basic and it fills up in high season.
• Carry out everything you carry in. There is no waste collection here.

Journeys that go there